It was a large and very pretty cherry tree which did not suit the demolished village that was running out of life. Kwon Taejung, who was climbing the stairs watching the cherry blossoms in full bloom, looked at Yigyeom, who seemed to be waiting for his reaction.
“It’s pretty.”
“… I’m glad it bloomed. I wondered what if it hadn’t yet…”
“There are only three trees, but they are so big that they cover the entire sky. They look great. More so because there is no one.”
Kwon Taejung slouched down on the stairs no one would ever climb beneath the tree. On the stairs, close to Kwon Taejung, Yigyeom sat quietly in the shade of the flower branches. It appeared like there were only the two of them left in the world because there was nothing else to hear but the petals swinging and dropping.
“Do you come to see the flowers here every year?”
“I don’t come here on purpose…I came across it when I dropped by the laundromat or something. Auntie and uncle used to tell me to catch my breath before beheading back so I used to wait here.”
Kwon Taejung thought of the laundry lady who was wary of him and thought that she could communicate with him to some extent, rambled about various things. She would have talked with Yigyeom even more, who lived in the same neighborhood, and would have treated him kindly.
“Do you like flowers?”
“Yes…They are pretty.”
Kwon Taejung, who watched Yigyeom smile innocently and say how flowers were pretty, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. It was because if he didn’t smoke anything, he would have done obscene and promiscuous things under the flowers, and that too, outdoors.
Kwon Taejung took a puff of his cigarette. It was not very nice to witness the cigarette smoke engulf his tender, positive thoughts for Yigyeom.
“I like pretty things too, but people usually don’t believe me. They thought I was lying whenever I said I liked flowers.”
Yigyeom raised his head at the friendly voice and looked at his face with the light penetrating through the swaying flower branches.
Brightly colored flowers, Kwon Taejung’s black suit, and Kwon Taejung’s strong shoulders contrast with the fragile petals.
At first glance, it might seem like they didn’t match well, but if scrutinized closely, Kwon Taejung and the flowers matched very well. At least, it looked like that in the eyes of Yigyeom, who was constantly overflowing with sweet emotions.
“It’s unfair how I like really pretty things. That’s why I like you too.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Surprised by the sudden words, Yigyeom made eye contact with Kwon Taejung, who smiled at me. The smile on his handsome face felt like petals brushing Yigyeom’s heart.
“Tlusfbw rtbeiv xcbk la abb. Ktja P ilxf qgfaas atlcur.”
Pa kjrc’a rfglber, yea la vlvc’a rbecv ilxf j pbxf flatfg. Tlusfbw ifjcfv yjmx klat tlr jgw qgbqqfv eq bc atf rafqr jcv ibbxfv ja Bkbc Kjfpecu, ktb kjr ibbxlcu ja atf oibkfgr klat tlr tfjv gjlrfv yfobgf tf ibkfgfv tlr tfjv gluta jkjs. Aera ibbxlcu ja atf iluta-mbibgfv qfajir rkjslcu lc atf klcv jcv ojiilcu ecvfg tlr offa wjvf tlr tfjga qbecv obg cb gfjrbc.
“Gift.”
A small flower branch suddenly approached in front of my eyes. At the end of the branches hung cherry blossoms in full bloom. Yigyeom accepted the flower branch Kwon Taejung held out and counted the number of petals.
Kwon Taejung, who was looking at Yigyeom who gave him a sweet look after receiving the flower branch he held out, took a deep breath in again and threw the half-smoked cigarette on the floor and crushed it. One of the reasons he didn’t want to destroy the ruined place was because only beautiful things were gathered there.
“This year will be the last. Here.”
“… Ah…”
Yigyeom, heartbroken at the word “last,” touched the flower branch. As Kwon Taejung said, this would be the last time he would be able to see the flowers like this. This place would disappear once June arrived, far from spring and closer to summer.
This was the first time Yigyeom had sat like this for a considerable amount of time; he didn’t always come to see flowers. While he was grateful to have spent his final moment with Kwon Taejung, he was a little disappointed that he was unable to grant him his small but ardent yearning to watch it with him the next year.
“Every time I see it, I always sit on the stairs like this. Sitting here like this…it’s something I’ve done in a long time.”
“…It’s the first time in a long while, but it feels a little strange because this will be my last.”
At Yigyeom’s words, Kwon Taejung, who rested his chin on his hands and looked at his face, fell silent. Wearing a pink shirt under a flower tree, Whenever he saw it, he kept forgetting to say that he was so pretty, and he only had the urge to touch him.
“Don’t attach too much importance to it.”
“Only you will be having a hard time if you do. When it disappears, it will reappear. Even if this place disappears, another good place will appear. I’ll look it up for you.”
“Until the flowers bloom next year.”
Yigyeom was told that they would go see flowers together next year. He wanted to ask if his assumptions were correct, but he didn’t ask because Kwon Taejung might be one of those ‘disappearing things’. Yigyeom just quietly nodded his head.
It was now two months until June arrived, and only two months and a fortnight left until this place would collapse. As Yigyeom thought of the time left, he touched the flower branch Kwon Taejung gave him for no reason. He didn’t know why he felt so upset right now.
Was it the realization that he would never again see the flowers? Or that after the neighborhood was destroyed, he would have no motive to meet with Kwon Taejung?
“Did I say something to upset you?”
The warm air carried a pleasant voice that reached my ears and face. Yigyeom looked in the direction Kwon Taejung was headed. Kwon Taejung grinned when their eyes connected once more. Every time Kwon Taejung chuckled, Yigyeom lowered his head. He was at a loss for what to do.
Chief, what am I upset about? Is it because Daramdong, where I’ve lived my whole life, is collapsing soon? Is it because the shade of the flower tree I sat for the first time will be gone? Or that when this place collapses, there will be no reason to meet you?
Yigyeom even thought that it would be better if the people who had been there before would curse and threaten him whenever they saw him. After all, a gangster was a gangster, and there was no reason to think of such a person and once the two months would pass away, we would never see each other again…Yigyeom could think of it that way.
But the smiles and hands that reached him were overly friendly. The hand that stroked his hair and then touched his cheek, the body that had been sitting slightly apart from him suddenly gathered together without a gap, the shadow of Kwon Taejung that made his heart flutter more than the shade formed by the flowers…
“…Mmh…”
Yigyeom’s tongue lightly brushed against his lips. Now, just by digging into Kwon Taejung’s lips, Yigyeom shrunk his body whenever the tip of his tongue touched his. A tickling sensation resonated so easily from his throat, and his already warm cheeks grew a slight fever following Kwon Taejung’s touch and movement.
Yigyeom enjoyed spending time with Kwon Taejung. Yigyeom always thought of Kwon Taejung before he went to sleep and waited for his call, unlike before, when he fell asleep as if he fainted whenever he laid down because he was so tired.
Yigyeom forgot that Kwon Taejung was someone he had met by chance and only showed his kind side in front of his eyes. Yigyeom had no intention of dating a gangster. He thought that it would never happen in the future, even while watching Kwon Taejung.
Yigyeom wanted to control his trembling mind. At that time, my heart, which had been inclined towards him even with just words, was set up right away.
But that didn’t happen. Yigyeom stopped listening to himself. He was more inclined to Kwon Taejung’s words that shook his heart rather than his words, and his heart wanted his touch, his lips, his arms hugging him, and to smell his thick scent. Yigyeom couldn’t afford to see anything else because I was watching Kwon Taejung.
Yigyeom opened his eyes and looked at Kwon Taejung as his lips slowly parted. It was nice to see their heated breaths touch each other.
Kwon Taejung chuckled once again. Yigyeom sank even deeper. He glanced at the approaching face once more as he squeezed their lips together and closed his eyes. Even though it was a warm day, he got goosebumps all over his body whenever he stroked and sucked his tongue tip.
Yigyeom tangled his tongue with Kwon Taejung’s, then unraveled it again, feeling Kwon Taejung digging into his mouth, and working up the courage to move his tongue slightly. At that, Kwon Taejung’s breathing became rough, and their kisses became urgent as if he was about to eat him up. The pheromones also became stronger, making Yigyeom dizzy as he slowly lost all his strength.
“… Ugh, ah…Chief…Mmh…”
Yigyeom leaned back as Kwon Taejung’s large body pushed him, and he awkwardly touched Kwon Taejung’s cheek as if to soothe him.
Yigyeom smiled as Kwon Taejung pressed against him as he couldn’t bear it anymore.
Yigyeom didn’t want to like thugs. It should never have happened in the future. But…
Yigyeom’s stubbornness was already swaying.
* * *
While working part-time, Yigyeom received a phone call from his caregiver and contemplated contacting the cafe owner. Fortunately, the boss, who was aware of Yigyeom’s circumstances, sent one of his family members to take off the shift while Yigyeom, who had been waiting impatiently, ran out of the cafe and took a taxi as soon as the boss’s family arrived. He headed to Taeseong Hospital, which the caregiver had told him about.
His grandfather went to the hospital because he was not well, so the moment he was told not to go home and come to the hospital, his face turned pale and his heart sank. He said he wasn’t in a critical condition, but he was still so sad that his grandfather’s condition suddenly got bad enough to be taken to the hospital, so he couldn’t help but cry.
Arriving at the hospital, Yigyeom quickly called the caregiver and went up to the intensive care unit where his grandfather was said to be. Seeing the caregiver waiting for him in front of the elevator, Yigyeom wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
“How is grandpa? Where is he now?”
“He’s in the intensive care unit.”
“If he is in an intensive care unit…His condition is really bad, isn’t it?”
“First of all, because he had treatment earlier, he is not in a severe condition; but, due to his old age and unstable health, the doctor advised that he spend a day or two in the intensive care unit.”
“…Then he won’t be going back, right? My grandpa won’t die, right?”
“Yeah, he overcame some hurdles today so don’t worry too much. You can visit the intensive care unit at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow, so go home and sleep today.”
Yigyeom, who wiped away his tears when he heard that he had passed some hurdles, shook his head. Grandpa was ill, but it was nonsense for him to go home and sleep.
Thanks for the update! I’m crying ╥﹏╥
thank you for reading! it’s my favorite chapter ><
It clicked right away that this episode was the scene on the poster. Thank you so much for your hardwork. It always bring me so much joy seeing your update. I am very grateful.
Purr
Some very small translation issues. There is incorrect gender used her instead of he or his.